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Sunday, October 5, 2008

Before we can tell you about our getaway last weekend to celebrate Giz's (Sept. 30) birthday and my (Oct. 3) birthdays, I should really finish telling you about R's birthday celebrations. In our family, most birthday are in September/October. Not terribly surprising considering how cold it is in January and February in Canada.

I haven't tried any of the recipes from Les Fougères' cookbook, most of them are pretty intense - something I would save for a more elaborate evening or a special event (but I do have my eye on a Pink Grapefruit Souffle).

However, I finally had the opportunity to try out the actual restaurant. We went to celebrate R's birthday. It was such a good experience, I wanted to tell you all about it.

From the moment that we arrived at the restaurant, I had a good feeling about the place. It's in a quiet area near the border of Quebec and Ontario. Right beside the parking lot is a fairly large garden, where the owner grow their own vegetables and herbs.

Definitely a good sign when the food you'll be served is grown by the restaurant. Plus, if you look in the cookbook, you can see where they get all of their supplies and they're all local producers. Fresh, seasonal food, from local producers. Does it get any better than that?

For starters, I ordered a squash soup with curry flavouring (I forget the actual name). It was so good, I wanted another bowl. R ordered the Salad Fougères. After seeing lardon in the salad, he was sold.

Luckily, the recipe for the salad is also available in their cookbook. According to the cookbook, they've had this salad on their menu since they opened in 1993. They say that they often make this into a main course salad by topping it with a softly boiled egg and adding slices of avocado, red onion and caramelized garlic.

Whisk together mustard and vinegar. Slowly add oil, whisking gently all the while. Season to taste.

To prepare salad: Slice bacon into lardons (cubes) and saute until golden and crispy. Toss salad with enough vinaigrette to coat leaves lightly. Divide salad between 6 bowls. Garnish with goat cheese, sauteed lardon bacon and a spoonful of the hot fat rendered from the lardons.

The salad included a fair number of bitter greens, which I thought balanced the goat cheese quite well.

For the main, both R and I got the filet mignon. I can't resist a well-made steak. It came with a pesto-like mixture and some pan-fried fresh vegetables. So good!

After dinner we checked out their onsite store. Not only can you eat in the restaurant, but they do make meals for you to eat at home. Gives a whole new meaning to take out.

Overall, a great dining experience. This restaurant will definitely be on my top 5 list.

I am also proud to announce that, after 5 years, I've completed R's scarf.

Since then, I've been on a knitting kick and took a class on how to make a simple tuque. Here's me wearing my first tuque.

I'm excited about picking a third, new project and making more tuques.

Also, since we're on the topic of new things, let me show you my envirosax. I won them in a competition on Kristen from Dine and Dish's site. Kristen has a lot of contests and I was beyond thrilled to win this one.

Five reusable bags fit into a holding sac. It makes for such an easy way to avoid using plastic bags. We already use cloth bags for grocery shopping. But, these bags are great because they are so compact.Now, I keep one in my bag or purse all of the time. The cloth bags I have would be way too bulky. But the envirosaxs are so small. Very convenient.

Despite appearances, they open up to a fairly large-sized bag. I love the designs.

Also included in the prize was a 4 minute timer that you put in your shower to try to minimize your water consumption. Between R and I, one of us has been more successful than the other in showering within the 4 minute time limit.

Well what can I say about the restaurant except WOW! And you're right you don't find to many restaurants that grow they're own veggies. Your knitting projects look great, I use to knit years ago, you're making think about starting again!

Everything looks great, I'm glad you guys had a rocking time. Especially steak... I want that. 4 minute showers sound like a nice way to help the planet, but man that's quick. Short hair has to be a must :)

Since we refer to family members, here's a key to clarify who's who

R - Psychgrad's hubby. Is the cook responsible for many of the recipes but usually does not post himself (unless it is to complain about our food obsession or share a dish that he loves -- usually poutine).

E- Practicing her skills as ruler of the world (or her little brother, K).

K - Cool little bro -- biding his time until he's big enough to take down E.

BACFF

The members of BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine have published a cookbook where 100% of the proceeds target children and education through the World Food Programme called School Meals. Purchases can be made by clicking the cookbook cover above.